Aims:  
  • To enhance the in-store food environment to influence healthy food choice and spending in Indigenous Australian remote communities.

Objectives:
  1. To develop and test the robustness (feasibility, validity and reliability) of a tool to measure the quality of the in-store environment
  2. To determine the relationship between the in-store environment and food spending
  3. To determine the impact of modifying the in-store environment (via placement and promotion strategies) on food purchasing in remote Australian Indigenous communities.
Summary:  

Diet is a leading contributor to the unacceptably high burden of disease experienced by Indigenous people in remote Australia. Interventions to improve diet quality are critically needed to break the cycle of disease and close the life expectancy gap.

The community store is an integral part of the food system, being the primary source of food for most Indigenous people living in remote communities.

Aspects of the in-store environment, such as product availability, price, placement and promotion (“the 4 P’s”) play an important role in people’s food choices. 

There is keen interest from a number of stakeholders who work with remote stores and communities, and thus we intend to investigate the influence that modifying the food environment (particularly product placement and promotion) can have on healthy food purchasing.

Implications for policy and practice:

This project will involve close collaboration between multiple stakeholders. A practical tool will be developed that can be used by remote PHNs, Good Food People, store managers and store boards to quickly assess elements of the in-store environment to inform their practice. The project will also result in the development of a suite of store-based strategies around product placement and promotion which can be implemented to encourage healthier food purchasing.

Chief investigator:
Project manager:
Contact information:
Project dates:

The project commenced in 2015.

Funders:
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
  • University of South Australia 
Collaborators:
  • Participating communities and other stakeholders.
Research team: